Sister Connection
by AzaldiaTook
Summary: ***ON HIATUS***Everyone knows that Rogue is a mutant, but she has a sister who is also a mutant. A twin that may be her only hope of touching anyone. Now Martha must choose whether to stay with her sis. or follow the mutant who has stolen her heart.
1. Chapter One

            "I just touched him… I didn't mean to… I just touched him… just get away from me!"

            Martha heard these last words screamed in her sister's bedroom.  She sprinted down the hall as fast as she could.  What she saw was alarming.  A boy was on Marie's bed convulsing and gasping for breath while her father attempted to hold him and yelled for someone to get a doctor.  Her mother almost ran over her trying to get to the phone downstairs.  Marie, Martha's twin sister, was rubbing her hands and mumbling incoherently while tears of fear ran down her face.  Martha didn't know what was going on or what to do.  It scared her to see her family so frightened.  She walked into the room and sat down next to where Marie had now curled up into a ball on the floor, crying.  Martha tried to rub her back and make her feel better, but when her hand made contact Marie screamed and slapped it away.

            "Don't touch me!"  she yelled.  Then she went back to sniffling and mumbling.  Now Martha was truly frightened.  Marie had never denied her twin's touch before.  She couldn't see Marie's face because her long auburn hair hid her but she knew she was frightened of something and it had to do with that boy.

            "Marie?  Marie, what's going on?"  Martha asked gently.  Marie's shoulders heaved up and down as she sobbed.  "Marie, please tell me.  Why can't I touch you?"  

She looked up through her tangled hair and replied,  "Because I don't want you to get hurt."  

Martha was confused, "What do you mean?  You've never hurt me before."

            Marie glanced at the bed where the boy was still lying.  "I'd never hurt him before either."  Then she curled back up in a ball on the floor and started rocking back and forth.  Martha heard sirens and then Mom directing men up the stairs, but she never left Marie.  Even when the EMT told her she was in the way, she refused to move.  It finally took the combined efforts of her mom and dad to get the both of them out of the room.  Marie still screamed when someone touched her.  Dad laid her down on the couch in the living room, where she promptly curled up with her face to the back of it, and Martha sat down on the floor by her head.  She didn't speak just sat watching and listening, waiting for who knows what.  All she knew was that Marie needed her, now more than ever.

~

The next day was Sunday and Marie refused to come out of her room or let anyone in.  When Mom called and told the girls it was time for church, they both answered that they weren't going.

            "What do you mean, of course you're going!  Now get out of bed and get ready!"  Neither of the twins listened.  Martha, still in her PJs that consisted of a pair of Scooby-Doo boxers and a white tank top, locked her door, sat in front of her mirror, and shook her short curly hair just like Shirley Temple.  Only her hair was a dark auburn like her mother's and sister's, not golden blonde.  She heard her mother beating on Marie's door and knew that she would be coming to hers next.  She picked up her brush and began to run it through her hair carefully.

            "Martha!" There she was, "Martha, get out here this instant and tell your sister to come out of her room!  Martha, unlock this door!"  Ouch, a tangle, "Martha, I mean it young lady!  If you're not out here in two seconds I'm going to send your father up here!"  There was a pause outside and then loud stomping down the stairs.  Martha sighed and ran her fingers through her freshly brushed locks.  She heard Mom and Dad mumbling downstairs and then surprisingly she heard the front door slam and the car driving out of the driveway.  She waited until the sounds of the engine had entirely faded away, then she snuck a peek out her door.  The hall outside her door at least was empty.  She ventured a little farther and found that the stairs were deserted and it was dark downstairs.  They really had left.  She sighed and turned back down the hall toward her room.  As she passed Marie's room, she heard sniffling.  She paused and listened, and then timidly she knocked on the door.

            "Marie?  It's me.  Are you OK?"  Martha heard a click and Marie's door opened slowly.

            "Are they gone yet?"  Her face was tear-streaked and she had dark circles under her brown eyes.

            "Yeah, I guess Dad told Mom it was a lost cause."  Martha replied, trying to extract a smile from her twin.  A small grin passed over her face and then disappeared as quickly as it had come.

            "Yeah, guess so."

            "Didn't you sleep last night?  You look awful."  Marie opened the door wider and Martha took it as an invitation and walked in.  She grabbed a chair and, turning it around backwards, took a seat.  Marie sat on her bed.  She was still in her PJs too, which was a long nightshirt with a big picture of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet on the front.

            "I couldn't sleep.  I could hear him in my head.  He kept screaming that it hurt.  It kept me awake."

            "What happened yesterday?  How did he get like that?  I mean, he was pretty screwed up."

            "I don't know what happened.  One minute, I'm telling him my plans for after high school.  Ya know the big trip we've been planning.  The next, he kissed me and after that, he started doing all that weird stuff.  Then, I screamed.  I've been hearing him ever since."

            Martha didn't know what to make of it.  It was like nothing she'd ever heard of before.

            "Hey, you don't think… you don't think you could be… ya know, like one of those people on TV with the weird powers and stuff.  A mutant?"  Marie looked at her with horror in her eyes.  It was of course the only idea that made sense.

            "No… no I can't be!"  Marie stood up and started pacing the room holding her head and moaning.

            "Come on, Marie.  It wouldn't be that bad, would it?  I mean, how bad could it be?"  Martha was trying to reassure her, but apparently, it wasn't working.

            "What am I gonna do, what am I gonna do?"  She could see that Marie was starting to panic.  Without thinking, Martha reached out and grabbed Marie's arm.  She started to feel a tingling sensation in her hand and let go immediately.  She shook her hand out to get rid of the feeling.  Marie had stopped pacing to watch her.  Martha took advantage of the opportunity.

            "First things first." She said and with that walked briskly back to her room.  She rummaged around for a few minutes in her closet and found a pair of tan leather gloves.  She brought them back and handed them to Marie, "Here, try these on."  Marie took them and put them over her hands gingerly.  They fit.  "Well, that's a start.  And it's getting close to winter anyway so no one will think it's odd if you start wearing them now."

            "What are you doing?" Marie asked.

            Martha smiled, "Preparin' you for school."


	2. Chapter 2

            The next day was Monday and the first day of school for the girls since the incident.  They walked to the school together, Marie dressed in the gloves and also a long-sleeved purple, turtle neck shirt with jeans and black boots.  She looked good, if Martha did say so herself.  She wouldn't exactly call herself a fashion whiz, (that was usually Marie) but she could put an outfit together if the need arose.  At first, Martha thought there weren't going to be any problems.  She saw a few whisperers in the halls when Marie walked by, but nothing serious.  Then, lunch came.  Martha got her lunch and immediately sought Marie out.  She wanted to know how her classes had gone so far.  She searched the cafeteria, but couldn't see her with her normal group of friends.

            _"Maybe she decided to eat in the library."_  Martha thought and walked out to see if she could find her.  She didn't have to go far.  Marie hadn't even made it to the cafeteria.  Down the hall, there was a group of three boys and a girl circling her twin.  Marie looked panicked and for good reason.  Those four didn't look at all friendly.  Martha sat down her tray and edged closer to the group to hear what they said.

            "You do realize, don't you, that gloves are out of style."  Said the girl menacingly.  Marie clenched her hands.

            "What are you gonna do?  Make us leave?  You're just a freak!"  One of the boys said.

            "Yeah, like those freaks on TV!  They're gonna lock you up and throw away the key!"  Said another.  That was it!  No one called her sister a freak!

            "Hey!  If you're so brave why don't you just touch her and see what happens, you losers!"  She yelled down the hall.  The four bullies now turned to face Martha.  The third boy stepped forward and laughed.

            "Why don't you?" he asked tauntingly.  Martha glared defiantly at him then walked toward her sister.

            "All right then!  I will!"  Marie gaped at her, but before she had a chance to protest, Martha put her hand to her sister's face.  She felt the tingle again, but this time she held on and instead of getting worse as she had expected, the tingle began to fade.  She looked into her sister's frightened eyes and smiled to reassure her.  Nothing was happening.  Marie stared in shock at the face of her sister, expecting at any moment for her to drop at her feet in a coma, like the boy on Saturday.  But they waited and still nothing happened.  Slowly, Martha dropped her hand.  She turned to the bullies who had stepped back and were now looking at her with horror on their faces.

            "Hah!  Come on Marie, let's go eat."  And with that she took her sister by the arm and led her to the cafeteria to get her some food.

            "What did ya do that for?"  Marie asked, as soon as they were alone at a table, "I could have killed you!"

            "I know."  Was Martha's simple reply before she bit into her cold turkey sandwich.

            "You know?  YOU KNOW!  I don't think you do know!"

            "Marie, please lower your voice.  Do you want the entire school to know?"

            "Their gonna figure it out anyway!  You know those four'll blab!"

            "Marie, the important difference between you and me is that I don't worry about it like you do.  If they want to label me, let them.  It was bound to happen sooner or later.  Now please, eat your food and stop drawing attention to yourself."  Martha ended calmly.  Marie grabbed her sandwich and glaring at her sister, took a big bite out of it, chewing slowly.  Martha didn't seem upset or even surprised by what had just happened.  Did she know something Marie didn't?  Marie swallowed.

            "I'm sorry Martha.  I was just surprised is all."

            "That's alright, Marie.  So was I."  

            Marie started at that.  "You sure didn't seem like you were."

            "Yeah well, I was.  I have no idea why I touched you, but it sure wasn't because I thought I was… different, but I guess I am."

            "What are we gonna tell, Mom?"  Marie asked, trying to think how their parents would react to this.

            "Let's not tell her yet, Dad either.  Maybe they don't have to know."  Marie nodded and the two sisters finished their lunch with nothing more than normal conversation.  They had just enough time before the bell rang for class.  They separated and Martha contemplated all that had happened while she was getting things out of her locker.  What was she going to do?  She went to class just like normal, everyone acted normal around her, which meant that the story hadn't spread around the entire school yet but she knew it would eventually.  She even got out of school safely, but the walk home was terrifying.  A knot began to form in her stomach the closer they got.  When they got to the front door, she stopped completely.  Marie sensed that she wasn't being followed anymore and turned back down the walk.  She had never seen her sister look so petrified.  She took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

            "They don't have to know, remember?"  She said, trying to sound encouraging.

            "No, they don't have to, but they will sooner or later."  Martha said with a hint of timidness still, in her voice though it had disappeared from her face as if she had pulled a mask over it, "And it might as well be me that tells them."  She walked purposely to the door, Marie following close behind, and walked in, "Mom!  We're home!"

            "How was school, girls?"  Mom responded, with a hint of anxiety in her voice.  The twins looked at each other and Martha answered.

            "Well, Mom, could you come into the living room?  I…  I have something to tell you."  Mom immediately popped her head out of the kitchen and seeing to serious looks on the faces of her two daughters, took a seat on the couch.

            "What is it sweetie?"  She asked, now generally worried.  They were so somber.

            Martha sat down next to her mom, "Mom, you still love Marie, even after what happened, right?"  Mom nodded, wordlessly.  What was going on?  Martha sighed, "Well, we think…" she looked at Marie, "We think that I may be the same way."

            Mom sucked in a breath.  There was an uncomfortable pause while the sisters waited for their mother's reaction.  She took a deep breath and collected her wits.  Then, she cautiously took Martha's hand.  She just couldn't believe that both of them…

            Martha gasped as her mom touched her uncovered skin.  The tingle came back, only this time it didn't go away.  She saw the veins her mother's hands and face begin to show through her skin.  She quickly let go of her.  Mom gasped and Martha thought she was going to faint, "Mom!"  Mom shook her head and leaned on her hands.  She took a few more deep breaths then looked up through tear-filled eyes.

            "What happened?"  The girls looked at one another and began to explain what had taken place that day at school.


	3. Chapter 3

            After they broke the news to their father (who amazingly, took it quite well), the twins began to discuss how they would deal with kids at school.  They decided that the best way to deal with it would be to take each day as it came.  They went to school the next day and by that time, both of their stories had spread to the entire school and the teasing and bullying began in earnest.  In the course of that day, Martha got pulled into three closets and slammed against countless lockers, by random students, some that she had once considered acquaintances.  Each time she either threatened them by beginning to take off her glove or by simply telling them that she would tell the principle if they didn't let her go.  Most of the time that worked, because the principle was a well-known and avid supporter of the equal rights for mutants' movement.  But of course, it didn't always work and Martha couldn't bring herself to actually make good on her threats, so she went home with a total of one black eye and a sore and bruised arm that had been punched countless times.

            Marie, however, wasn't so lucky.  She had two black eyes, a twisted arm, a bruised side and a bloody nose, when she went home.  Martha saw her when they met at the corner to walk home.  She ran to help her carry her books and help her get home.  She cried all the way.

            "It's not fair!  I hurt so bad!"

            "I know you do."  Martha said.  It was the truth.  Ever since the day before when she had touched her, Martha had been able to know, strangely, exactly how Marie was feeling all the time.  She could, sometimes, even know what she was thinking.  It was more than just twin intuition.  It was something else.

            They went home and Mom tended to their wounds.  When she got done with both of them, she sat them down with their father, in the living room.  The twins could tell this was going to be a very serious conversation.

            "Girls, we want you both to know that we love you," Mom began.  Martha and Marie both looked at each other and thought, _This isn't good,_ Mom continued, oblivious to her daughters mind connection, "And we value your opinions greatly, which is why we needed to talk to you.  Your father and I have been thinking about transferring you to a private school.  One where your… conditions won't be common knowledge and you can start over."

            "No!"  Martha exclaimed, "I love my school!  All my friends go there!"

            "The ones that gave you that shiner?"  Dad asked pointing to her eye.  Martha touched it self-consciously, but continued.

            "No, the ones that stopped me from getting anything worse like a broken arm.  Besides they can't hurt me too bad unless they want to end up in a coma."  She immediately regretted saying that and she could feel Marie flinch beside her.  The boy she had kissed was in a coma right now and the doctors didn't know how long he would take to get out of it.  Marie immediately shook herself.

            "I'm not leaving without Martha."  She stated, "I don't want to be alone.  Besides all my friends go to school there too."  Their parents looked at one another.  Dad shrugged as if to say that he didn't care but Mom wasn't giving up so easily.  Martha knew.  She could hear her mother's thoughts just as she could hear Marie's.

            "Martha, I understand the need to be with your friends, but you could make new friends at this new school.  And it's not far away so you could still see your old friends on the weekends."

            "Mom, do you realize what you're asking me to do?"  Martha asked her mom calmly, "You're asking me to run.  To go somewhere else and pretend that I'm not what I know I am.  Mom, I'm a mutant and I always will be no matter where I go."  When she said the word that her parents had been avoiding ever since Saturday, she saw her family cringe, but she couldn't stand it anymore.  Why couldn't they just accept that that was what she and Marie were?  They had.  Why were her parents having such a hard time with this?

            "We're not asking you to run," their dad spoke this time, "we're just asking you to consider other options."

            "Dad, don't you think the people at this new school would just ask why we were there?"  Marie asked.  Their parents looked at one another as if they hadn't even thought of that, "Maybe you're the ones that need to consider your options better."  With that, Marie stood up and walked upstairs to her room.  Martha heard the door slam behind her, then waited for her parents' permission to leave.  They sat for a while like that, not saying a word.  Her mom looked at her with sadness in her eyes.

            _"Please, go talk to her."_  Martha started.  She had heard her mother's thoughts.  Maybe she should tell her.  No, that would just freak her out more.

            "I'll go talk to her."  She said instead as if it had been her own thought.  She stood up and went upstairs to Marie's room and knocked on the door.

            "Marie?  Can I come in?"

            "No."  Was the simple reply.  Martha was confused.

            Then as if in answer to her unspoken question, "You're just coming because Mom asked you to."

            "No, I really want to talk to you."  Martha pleaded.  _"Don't shut me out."_  She thought.  Suddenly, she heard a click and the door creaked open.  Martha slipped in and saw her sister sitting her on the bed, holding a teddy bear.

            "Close the door please."  She said calmly.  Martha did as she asked and sat down in the chair she had sat in before.  They sat there like that for a bit, not saying anything, just getting their thoughts in order.

            "I can hear you."  Marie said out of the blue.

            "I can hear you too."  Martha replied.  There was silence again,  "I can hear Mom too."  She added.

            Marie started and looked at her sister in shock, "Have you told her?"  She asked in a panicked voice.

            "No, I haven't.  Don't worry, I don't intend to."  Martha said, sensing the reason behind her sister's worry.  Marie relaxed and looked in the mirror.

            "Do you really think they'll make us go?"  Marie asked.

            Martha shrugged, "I don't know.  Let's cross that bridge when we come to it, ok?"  Marie nodded and they both heard their mother call that it was time for dinner.  They had spent more time in Marie's room then they had thought, "Come on."  Martha said, taking Marie's hand, "I'm starving."  Marie smiled and allowed herself be led out of her room.


End file.
